Neurocognitive Deficits in First-Episode and Chronic Psychotic Disorders: A Systematic Review from 2009 to 2022

Cognitive impairment in patients suffering from schizophrenia spectrum disorders has been discussed as a strong predictor for multiple disease outcome variables, such as response to psychotherapy, stable relationships, employment, and longevity. However, the consistency and severity of cognitive deficits across multiple domains in individuals with first-episode and chronic psychotic disorders is still undetermined. We provide a comprehensive overview of primary research from the years 2009 to 2022. Based on a Cochrane risk assessment, a systematic synthesis of 51 out of 3669 original studies was performed. Impairment of cognitive functioning in patients diagnosed with first-episode psychotic disorders compared with healthy controls was predicted to occur in all assessed cognitive domains. Few overall changes were predicted for chronically affected patients relative to those in the first-episode stage, in line with previous longitudinal studies. Our research outcomes support the hypothesis of a global decrease in cognitive functioning in patients diagnosed with psychotic disorders, i.e., the occurrence of cognitive deficits in multiple cognitive domains including executive functioning, memory, working memory, psychomotor speed, and attention. Only mild increases in the frequency of cognitive impairment across studies were observed at the chronically affected stage relative to the first-episode stage. Our results confirm and extend the outcomes from prior reviews and meta-analyses. Recommendations for psychotherapeutic interventions are provided, considering the broad cognitive impairment already observed at the stage of the first episode. Based on the risk of bias assessment, we also make specific suggestions concerning the quality of future original studies

Similarities and differences in the lifestyles of populations using mode 3 technology in North Africa and the south of the Iberian Peninsula

In the geohistorical region of the Strait of Gibraltar, which includes the south of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, important research has been carried out in recent years. This research has allowed us to document the presence of human groups as early as the Middle Pleistocene. Classical anthropology refers to these groups using various terms Homo Neanderthalensis in the south of Europe and Homo sapiens sapiens in North Africa). The current records exhibit important similarities concerning lithic technology (the so-called ‘Mode 3’, ‘Mousterian’ or ‘Middle Stone Age’), and the exploitation of marine resources. From an anthropological or cultural perspective, both groups were hunter-gatherers with similar lifestyles. Bearing these similarities in mind, three hypotheses are here presented

The nature and chronology of human occupation at the Galerías Bajas, from Cueva de Ardales, Malaga, Spain

The Cueva de Ardales is a hugely important Palaeolithic site in the south of the Iberian Peninsula owing to its rich inventory of rock art. From 2011-2018, excavations were carried out in the cave for the first time ever by a Spanish-German research team. The excavation focused on the entrance area of the cave, where the largest assemblage of non-figurative red paintings in the cave is found. A series of 50 AMS dates from the excavations prove a long, albeit discontinuous, occupation history spanning from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. The dating of the Middle Palaeolithic layers agrees with the U/Th dating of some red non-figurative paintings in the entrance area. In addition, a large assemblage of ochre lumps was discovered in the Middle Palaeolithic layers. Human visits of the cave in the Gravettian and Solutrean can be recognized, but evidence from the Aurignacian and Magdalenian cannot be confirmed with certainty. The quantity and nature of materials found during the excavations indicate that Cueva de Ardales was not a campsite, but was mainly visited to carry out non-domestic tasks, such as the production of rock art or the burial of the dead

Ocupaciones de la Cueva de Ardales y Sima de las Palomas de Teba por sociedades neandertales

Un equipo interdisciplinar internacional viene realizando nuevas investigaciones en Cueva de Ardales (Ardales, Málaga) y en Sima de las Palomas (Teba, Málaga), enmarcadas en un Proyecto General de Investigación autorizado por la Junta de Andalucía. Presentamos un avance de los datos obtenidos en ambas cavidades en relación a la ocupación vinculada a sociedades neandertales con tecnología de tipo Paleolítico Medio.An international interdisciplinary team is carrying out new research in Cueva de Ardales (Ardales, Málaga) and Sima de las Palomas (Teba, Málaga), framed in a General Research Project authorized by the Junta de Andalucía. We present here preliminary data of Neanderthal occupations and related Middle Palaeolithic technology from both cavities.Universidad Pablo de Olavid

Nuevos datos arqueológicos del Paleolítico superior en la cueva de Malalmuerzo (Moclín, Granada, España)

[EN] The Malalmuerzo cave (Moclín, Granada, Spain) has been known since the 1980s for its archaeological remains and rock art, dated to the Neolithic and the Solutrean periods respectively. However, following thirty years of neglect, our team carried out a brief archaeological intervention after looters destroyed parts of the sediment fill of the cave. The refreshing of disturbed surfaces and the examination of a small undisturbed profile produced many archaeological remains attributed to several Magdalenian levels. The levels partially covered the depiction of a red horse, which probably dates to the Solutrean period.[ES] La cueva de Malalmuerzo (Moclín, Granada, España) es conocida desde los años 80, del siglo pasado, por albergar restos arqueológicos del Neolítico y arte rupestre Solutrense. Sin embargo, tras treinta años de abandono, nuestro equipo llevó a cabo una intervención de urgencia después de la destrucción a manos de expoliadores de parte del sedimento arqueológico. La regularización y limpieza del perfil aportó gran cantidad de restos adscritos al Magdaleniense. Además se documentó la figura de un équido en rojo solutrense, cuya parte inferior estuvo parcialmente cubierta por el sedimento arqueológico objeto de nuestro estudio.[BQ] Malalmuerzoko kobazuloa (Moclín, Granada, Espainia) joan den mendeko 80ko hamarkadatik da ezaguna Neolitikoko aztarna arkeologikoak eta Solutre aldiko labar-artea biltzen dituelako. Baina hogeita hamar urtez abandonatuta egon ondoren, gure taldeak urgentziazko esku-hartzea egin behar izan zuen espoliatzaile batzuek sedimentu arkeologikoaren zati bat suntsitu ostean. Profilaren garbiketari eta irregularizazioari esker, Madeleine aldiari atxikitako aztarna ugari topatu genituen. Gainera, Solutre aldiko ekido gorri baten irudia dokumentatu zuten. Haren beheko zatia gure ikerlanaren helburu izan den sedimentu arkeologikoarekin estalita egon zen partzialki.Peer reviewe

Schiedsspruch und staatliche Gerichtsbarkeit | Rolle und Funktion des staatlichen Gerichts bei der Aufhebung, Anerkennung und Vollstreckbarerklärung von Schiedssprüchen

Die Arbeit hat die Rolle des staatlichen Gerichts bei der Aufhebung, Anerkennung und Vollstreckbarerklärung in- und ausländischer Schiedssprüche zum Gegenstand. Als Ausgangspunkt der Untersuchung dient das sog. $aGleichwertigkeitspostulat:$z Die Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit ist als ein gegenüber der staatlichen Gerichtsbarkeit alternatives, eigenständiges, auf Privatautonomie beruhendes Streitentscheidungssystem zu begreifen, welcher ein hinreichend autonomer Handlungs- und Entscheidunsgspielraum jenseits staatlicher »Nachprüfungsmöglichkeiten« zukommen muss. Neben der detaillierten Darstellung einzelner, gesetzlich normierter Rahmenkontrollmechanismen arbeitet die Autorin auch deren Umfang und Grenzen heraus, insbesondere indem sie eine Gegenüberstellung mit den staatlichen Rechtsmittelverfahren der Zivilprozessordnung angesichts der ursprünglich dem Revisionsrecht entstammenden $arévision au fond$z vornimmt sowie Parallelen der $aordre public-Kontrolle$z zum Prüfungsumfang des Bundesverfassungsgerichts zieht. Letztlich ist auch vor einem Schiedsgericht kein beliebiger Rechtsschutz einholbar, da lediglich eine »gleichwertige Rechtsschutzmöglichkeit«, aber kein darüberhinausgehender Rechtsschutz zu gewähren ist.»The Role of State Courts in the Course of the Reversal and Nullity, Recognition and Enforcement of Local and Foreign Arbitral Awards«Arbitral jurisdiction needs to be conceived as an autonomous and independent mode of dispute resolution demanding a sufficient own scope for initiative and decision-making powers and thus presenting an equal alternative to state jurisdiction. The thesis does not only include a detailed presentation of individual legally standardized control mechanism by German state courts, but identifies scope and limits thereof in the course of a critical juxtaposition with state court appeals and constitutional complaints